


A Small Eternity

by Myshka



Series: A Small Eternity [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But mostly fluff, Disaster Gay Keith, Disaster gay Shiro, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, SO MUCH FLUFF, They're both huge disasters, and a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 12:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16118474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myshka/pseuds/Myshka
Summary: Keith knows he's in love with Shiro, but he doesn't want to ruin their friendship by confessing. When the last major battle between the Intergalactic Coalition and the Galra Empire looms before them, he decides maybe it's worth the risk.





	A Small Eternity

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is a work of complete sappiness. I regret to inform you that it may cause tooth decay and diabetes, but if you experience any adverse effects due to reading this fic, please don't come running to me. I am only the messenger; this story did what it wanted.
> 
> On that note, I am not entirely happy with how this turned out, but I'm posting it anyway as I'm tired of looking at it. Do let me know your thoughts and if I've missed any typos! All kudos and comments are appreciated!

“Be safe.” Krolia said, pulling her son into her arms and squeezing him to her tight. She was inhumanly strong and Keith found himself gasping for air, but he didn’t break the embrace. They were about to launch an attack on the Galra fleet led by Haggar and they were sparing no resources, hoping that this would be the beginning of the end of the war. This may be the last time he would ever feel his mother’s embrace; you never knew when Death may come to call in wartime. “I love you too much to lose you.”

“I love you too, Mom, and I promise I’ll do my best to be safe. You take care too.” He nuzzled further into her shoulder, not ready to let go yet.

“I always am. I’ve been doing this for a long time, after all.” She retorted, and Keith could hear the fiercely pleased edge in her voice. He knew it wasn’t exactly true. His mother could at times be reckless on the battlefield if she thought it would help secure victory. Keith had inherited this trait from her, after all.

“Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He joked. It was lame, but they both laughed. It was the best either of them could do. No one could promise that something wouldn’t go wrong.

They stayed in their embrace for a long time, but eventually they had to let go of one another and get on with their individual preparation tasks for the gruelling battle to come. Keith swore there was a physical pain in his chest as he watched his mother stride towards the contingent of Blades she had trained along with Kolivan, her long legs eating up the distance far too quickly. Keith forced himself to turn around, setting his mind to checking over Black to make sure she was in perfect shape before entering into combat. He had already looked her over twice earlier, but there was still some time before the Lions were meant to take off and you could never be too careful.

As he walked toward the Atlas, where the Lions were being kept, he observed his surroundings. All around the tarmac, people of dozens of species were scurrying, running every which way in an attempt to finish all the necessary preparations in time, the heavy breeze adding to the disarray. The ships were as varied as the people, ranging from state-of-the-art fighters to old, decrepit crafts that looked like they should have seen the junkyard long ago. The Coalition had mustered every ship and armament available to see their plans through. They could only hope it would be enough. 

Keith felt a twisting in his gut at the thought of their ragtag fleet taking on the well-armed Galra Empire. It was hard to convince himself that they stood a chance. Getting to Black would distract him from his worries. There, he could put all his focus into the routine of checking her systems, and her presence would help to soothe his mind.

He stopped short as he came in sight of the entrance to the Atlas. Around all the bustling people, he could see Shiro standing at the foot of the Atlas’s ramp, apparently in deep conversation with Ryner. As always, he looked beautiful. He had chosen to forgo his Garrison officer’s uniform in favour of the flight suit, its white body highlighted in silver complimenting his silvery hair reflecting the sunlight. The tight lines of the suit brought the curves of Shiro’s muscles into sharp relief. 

Keith’s mouth grew dry and he gulped. One hour before the biggest battle of his life was not the time to be checking out his best friend, if there ever was such a time. He needed to get his head in the game if he wanted to survive this battle, not get caught up in Shiro’s beauty. 

He didn’t even know if this kind of attention would be appreciated. Better not to go there.

At that moment, Ryner and Shiro must have completed their conversation as Ryner turned on her heel to rejoin the rest of the Olkari contingent, leaving Shiro standing alone, the wind rustling his starlit hair. Shiro turned in Keith’s direction, and Keith was caught. There was no way Shiro hadn’t seen him staring. A genuine smile broke across Shiro’s face, and, as always, Keith was amazed at how Shiro could still smile after everything he’d been through. Those smiles never failed to send a butterfly fluttering in his heart.

_Well_ , Keith thought, _there’s nothing for it_ , and he strode towards Shiro. It’s not like he would give up the chance to speak to Shiro one last time before battle, looking into his grey, grey eyes and knowing that he loved and was loved in return.

“Keith. There you are.” Shiro’s voice was tender, as it always was when speaking with Keith. Shiro may have been in total control, the ideal Captain, a moment before, but he never failed to soften when he was looking at Keith. As always when they were in each other’s presence, the world faded around them, leaving them in their own world apart from the dizzying activity surrounding them.

“Hey, Shiro. I was just going to check on Black. Make sure she’s ready, you know?” Keith knew his voice sounded like melted butter, soft enough to cut a knife through with ease.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve done that twice already. Nervous?” A teasing glint had entered Shiro’s eyes. Of course Shiro knew what he’d been up to; it was rare that they weren’t aware of all of each other’s activities.

“A little, yeah.” Keith admitted. It was easy to tell Shiro these things, even if he would cut off his own nose before sharing them with anyone else. He knew Shiro would never judge him for how he felt, would always provide him with unwavering support. Besides, Keith also knew that Shiro had to be feeling the same way despite all his attempts to put on a brave persona.

“Me too.” Shiro’s voice was small and soft, all his vulnerability bared, just for Keith. Shiro’s walls never came down for anyone but him, and Keith was so grateful that he was the one who got to see the real Shiro, the Shiro that no one else really knew. Keith reached out his arms and gently pulled Shiro towards him, enfolding him in his warmth.

“It’s going to be okay,” Keith assured, “It absolutely has to be okay. I won’t accept anything else.”

“You just admitted to being worried yourself, like, three seconds ago!” Shiro said laughing, but he allowed himself to relax in Keith’s arms anyway. It never failed to warm Keith to his core when Shiro did that, helping Keith to relax himself.

As always, it was a struggle to pull themselves apart, but you could only hug for so long on the tarmac before a battle. Keith didn’t care about any strange looks they might draw, and he knew Shiro didn’t either, but as the leaders of Voltron and the Atlas crew respectively, they had to be the ones to put up a brave and decisive front. It was still difficult to pull away. The space of only a couple of feet felt like a yawning abyss between them. It struck Keith then, viscerally, that there was a very real possibility that this might be the last time they held each other in their arms and a lump rose in his throat.

“Well, you know, one of us has to be the strong one!” he joked in an effort to cover up his rising emotions. He felt bad almost immediately. Shiro was the strongest person he knew. “You’ve always supported me when I’ve been unsure. I think it’s my turn to return the favour.”

“Keith,” it came as a surprise that Shiro’s voice sounded choked, “I think we both know that you’ve more than returned the favour. You have supported me time and time again when I’ve felt lost or afraid or just didn’t know what to do. Even before… Kerberos,” that was still a delicate subject with Shiro, even after all this time, and Keith didn’t know if it would ever get easier, “You were there for me when no one else was. You don’t need to worry about making up for anything. And I’ve never supported you because I wanted something from you, but because you’re amazing and you deserve it. I could see that right from the beginning.”

“I know, Shiro, but I want to,” Keith’s voice was private, just for them, “You deserve it too.”

On their 18 month journey back to Earth, there had been a lot of time to think about everything that had happened to them since they’d left. For Keith and Shiro, in particular, there had been a glaring subject neither of them wanted to broach. What had happened at that cloning facility, that fight where they had both nearly died, was not something either of them wanted to think of, and so, initially they had ignored it, going about their tasks as though nothing had happened, carrying on conversations that skirted around the issue, but that retreated if either of them got to close to actually discussing it.  


***

They’d been flying non-stop for 20 vargas, and Keith’s eyelids were drooping. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He knew he could take a rest and let Black fly on autopilot and another member of the team or the Lion herself would wake him in case of emergency, but Keith preferred to be on alert when they were travelling. Krolia had decided to join Allura and Romelle in the Blue Lion for what Romelle called “female bonding time”, whatever that was. Krolia hadn’t seemed to know herself, but, no offense to Keith, she had decided she needed a break from him for a bit. As much as Keith loved every second with his mother, he had to admit it was nice to switch things up every now and then. He was left with Kosmo to wake him up by pressing his cold wet nose into Keith’s palm if ever Keith was drowsing,

Shiro was asleep in the storage room. He needed considerably more sleep upon being transferred into his clone’s body than he ever had in the past, as though he was sleeping off an enormous sleep debt, which, if Keith thought about it, he probably was. Keith felt a dark cloud overtake him. He’d make sure Shiro got every second of sleep he deserved even if he had to fight for it. He would kill Haggar for ever doing this to Shiro, _to them_ , in the first place. He’d…

A soft noise roused him from his fantasies of taking vengeance on those who dared to hurt the ones he loved. He was immediately alert, Galra hearing ready to pick up any further sounds.

It didn’t take long for the small sound to repeat, clearly coming from the storage compartment. The storage compartment where Shiro slept. Keith tensed, instantly ready to defend Shiro from anyone who might be there to hurt him. Silently, he drew his Blade, ensured his bayard was secured in easy reach, and signalled Kosmo to follow him.

As quietly as he could, Keith slid open the storage room door, to be met by nothing but Shiro sleeping in his makeshift cot. Just as Keith began to wonder where the noise was coming from, it came again. This time, in such close proximity, it was obvious that the noises were coming from Shiro. He was moaning in distress in his dreams.

Keith felt his heart drop to the floor as Shiro whimpered in his sleep once again. Thanks to everything Shiro had been through over the last two or so years, he could be dreaming about any of a host of traumatic experiences, but Keith thought he knew the most likely culprit in this case. It was the same one that haunted his own nightmares and waking thoughts alike, the same unacknowledged shadow hanging over them since this journey began.

Keith stood frozen by the entry. You weren’t supposed to wake up someone who was dreaming, right? But seeing Shiro toss and turn, hearing him whimper, tortured by demons he couldn’t shake off from his past, was unacceptable to Keith.

In a sudden flash, Kosmo appeared on the bed beside Shiro and settled in by his side. Keith opened his mouth, about to hiss at Kosmo to come back to his place by the door, when he noticed that having Kosmo there didn’t seem to distress Shiro further. Rather, as the seconds passed, Shiro seemed to calm further and he dug his fingers into Kosmo’s plush fur.

Keith relaxed a little himself. If having Kosmo near helped Shiro to sleep better, that was good. But as he turned to leave, he heard stirring behind him.

“Keith?” Shiro’s voice was raspy with sleep. Apparently, Kosmo calmed him down, but he didn’t help him sleep. Keith was willing to bet it was the wolf’s breath. It could be… less than pleasant.

“Sorry to wake you up, Shiro. Go back to sleep.” Keith said quietly.

“No, it’s okay. I wasn’t having the best dreams anyway,” Shiro’s features pinched and his eyes looked concerned, “I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

“No,” Keith lied easily. It may not have been the truth, but Shiro didn’t need to feel guilty about it. He had enough of that to last a lifetime, “I was just wondering where Kosmo got to.” 

Shiro glanced down, seemingly noticing the large fluffy wolf in his bed for the first time. Keith couldn’t help a tiny smile when Shiro reached out his hand to pet Kosmo’s head and Kosmo’s eyes closed in utter contentment.

“Go back to sleep,” Keith said again, “You need it. I’ll be just outside in the cockpit if you need me.” As if that wasn’t always the case.

“Thanks, Keith.” Shiro was looking down at his lap, expression dark. He looked like he was retreating into himself again, pulling away into his own thoughts where it was impossible to reach him. Keith didn’t want to leave him like that; it felt wrong, like he was abandoning Shiro.

He hesitated in the doorway. He should say something now, rather than let their wounds continue to fester.

“You said you were having bad dreams,” his voice was loud in the heavy silence and Shiro’s head snapped up towards him. He sounded like the words were being forced from him, like he didn’t want to say them, even to himself. “Did you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Shiro had completely closed himself off, voice and face expressionless.

Keith knew he should leave it. If Shiro didn’t want to talk, it wouldn’t help to force it, but he also knew they couldn’t keep ignoring it. If they didn’t broach the subject now, it would only continue to grow between them. He couldn’t let this ruin their friendship, not after everything they had surmounted together.

Keith crossed the room to sit on the edge of Shiro’s bed. He thought he could detect a hint of surprise on Shiro’s face, but it was hard to tell in the gloom.

“Were you dreaming about that fight? That one at the cloning facility?” Keith began in a whisper. It sounded harsh. Shiro flinched before he turned his face away. He tried to hide it, but Keith caught it.

“Shiro.” There was no response. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we have to. We have to deal with this, not let it come between us.”

“Can we do this another time?” Shiro’s voice was rough, harsh in a way Keith didn’t think he’d heard from him before.

“Will you let it happen another time? Or will you keep on avoiding it?” Nothing. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this another time. It’s too much. I think if we don’t do this now, we never will, and then where will that leave us?”

Shiro still kept his face turned, refusing to look in Keith’s direction and Keith’s frustration grew. He was trying to be patient. If only Shiro would give him something to work with. Everyone always accused Keith of being stubborn, but they obviously had never met Shiro when he got like this, because there was nothing that could move Takashi Shirogane to talk about something when he had made up his mind not to.

A small noise startled Keith from his increasingly frustrated thoughts. It sounded a lot like a sniffle.

“Shiro?” Keith asked timidly. Shiro made the noise again, and this time it was unmistakably a sniffle. “Shiro, are you crying?”

“No,” but Shiro’s voice was definitely wet. They sat in silence for a few moments. Keith understood that Shiro didn’t want him to see him cry. He would give him some time to collect himself. But as the moments passed, it became clear Shiro was having a hard time keeping himself from crying harder.

“Can I hug you?” Keith asked at last, “You look like you need a hug.” He wasn’t expecting Shiro to take him up on the offer, not really. Shiro could be difficult like that. But, in the space of an instant, he suddenly found his arms full of Shiro. Automatically, he wrapped his arms around him.

It’s not like they never hugged. In fact, they were the only ones they each hugged on the regular. Keith had never been particularly comfortable with physical contact, making an exception only for Shiro. Shiro, on the other hand, had always been relatively comfortable with casual touch (“Touchy-feely sap”, Keith had liked to tease him back at the Garrison), but since escaping Galra captivity… well, he’d been a bit more reserved. He still made sure to reassure the team with comforting shoulder touches, and even hugs on a couple of memorable occasions, but it was apparent that he was much more comfortable when he was the one initiating the contact. They still hugged one another, along with keeping up more casual contact, but up until now, it had always been Shiro providing Keith with comfort, never the other way around. No matter how close they grew, Shiro still kept up this one wall with Keith, not letting him see him at his most vulnerable. This was new territory for them, but Keith was not going to fail to be what Shiro needed him to be.

Keith maneuvered them until Shiro was resting comfortably in his arms, head resting on his shoulder. His shoulders still shook with suppressed sobs he was doing a poor job of concealing. He may not be able to hide the fact that he was crying, but he still didn’t want Keith to see him break down and weep. Keith wouldn’t push it. It was enough that Shiro allowed him to see this much. He surprised himself by not shedding any tears of his own, but Shiro needed him to be his shoulder to cry on this time, and it seemed that that was enough to keep him calm and firm.

Keith wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, enshrouded in darkness, but eventually Shiro’s sobs slowed. Keith’s shoulder was soaked with tears and Shiro’s breaths were heaving, but calm descended on them at last.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said in a cracked voice once he’d caught his breath enough to speak.

“Don’t be. You obviously needed that.” Keith soothed.

“Yeah, well. It’s not like this has been easy for you either.”

It was Keith’s turn to be silent.

“I know we haven’t talked about it since I woke up. About the fight I mean,” it was clear Shiro was struggling to come up with the words to express himself, “I just…”

When he didn’t continue, Keith cut in.

“If you don’t want to do this now, I get it. I think that we need to do this though. If not now, then soon. I don’t want this to hurt what we have.” What that was, Keith wasn’t about to say. Friendship, of course, even if that isn’t at all how he felt about Shiro.

“I know. I know. You’re right. Of course you’re right. It’s just… everything. It’s been… a lot… since waking up. It’s a lot to process. What happened, and this new body… Never mind. I shouldn’t make excuses. We should do this. Talk.” Shiro rambled, probably stalling, if only subconsciously.

“It’s okay, Shiro. I get it. Just take a breath, okay?” Keith hadn’t even thought about what else Shiro must be going through psychologically on top of their fight. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to wake up in a body that wasn’t your own after being trapped in the astral plane for months on end. Shit. Keith kicked himself for being insensitive. “We really don’t have to talk about this now. You have so much else to deal with. But if you wanted to talk about some of the stuff that’s bothering you?... I’m here.”

“No, Keith. You’re right. We should talk about what happened. I’ve been avoiding it, and that isn’t fair to you. And I’m not really up to talking about that other stuff right now.” Shiro raised his head far enough off of Keith’s shoulder to give him that his trademark Shirogane stubborn look through tearstained lashes. Keith probably shouldn’t be thinking that it was a pretty sight. He should at least try and be a good friend.

“To be totally fair, I’ve been avoiding it too,” Keith tried to lighten the situation, “So we’re kind of both at fault here. So no beating yourself up about it, got it?”

“Okay,” Shiro snorted and buried his face back into Keith’s shoulder. It was nice. “As long as you make the same promise.”

“Okay.”

Silence overtook them then, neither of them willing to start. Their soft breaths were the only noise in the room, gradually syncing up until they were breathing in tandem.

“Alright,” Keith said several minutes of no words passing between them. He didn’t want to upset Shiro again, but they had to start somewhere. “Tell me if you want to stop at any time, but… what do you remember about the fight?”

Truthfully, Keith hadn’t been certain that Shiro remembered anything about the fight. That hadn’t actually been Shiro, after all, but his clone, although it was difficult for Keith to distance the two in his mind. The clone had looked exactly like the Shiro he knew, and had acted so much like him too. Even at the end, when he was fully under Haggar’s control, he had been Shiro to Keith. That was one of the scariest parts, that Keith loved someone who wasn’t even Shiro as much as the real thing. If Shiro was willing to talk about this though, that must mean he remembered at least a little of what had transpired.

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Keith held his in fearful anticipation. Now that it was upon them, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go through with the discussion.

“Everything,” Shiro whispered at last and his voice wavered, “I remember everything, from when the Witch took over my mind back on the Castleship… and everything after that too.”

Shiro paused then, and Keith thought he would start crying once again. But all he did was take another deep breath, and another, and another, until he had calmed a little, and then he continued.

“I was aware, you know. That she was controlling me. I tried to fight her, but you know how well that worked,” he let loose a single humourless bark of laughter. His face was still hidden in Keith’s armour, so Keith couldn’t see his expression, “The whole time, she was telling me what to do, and I tried to resist, but my body just did what she wanted anyway. She even controlled what I thought, or at least a part of me. That was the worst. That even my thoughts weren’t really my own. When she told me to draw you away, I couldn’t resist her, but she didn’t tell me where to take you.”

Shiro trailed off again, and Keith waited him out, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down his back. He thought it worked. Shiro was tense, but he wasn’t panicking, and that had to be a good sign. When Shiro picked his story back up, his voice was even smaller.

“It was my own idea to take you to the cloning facility. Or, I guess, the clone’s, but it’s hard sometimes to tell which memories belong to who. Anyway. I brought you there because I hoped you’d figure out what was going on. I guess you did. I’m sorry, I know that must have been awful, but it was the only way I could think of to let you know what was happening. And, Keith,” and now Shiro really was crying again, “I’m so sorry for everything I said to you. I swear, I never meant any of those things. I don’t really think that! I really, really don’t! You are the best person I know, and the strongest, and…”

“Shh. I know,” Shiro was going to be a wreck again if he kept on, and Keith wasn’t going to be far behind him. What Shiro had said back there had hurt, it was true, but even then, Keith had known that the words weren’t true. More importantly, he knew that Shiro didn’t really think those things. Actions spoke louder than words after all, and over the years, Shiro’s actions had shown him how much he respected and cared about him.

“I know, Shiro. I know you never wanted to hurt me. That goes for the clone too. He was you in every way that mattered,” Keith didn’t know if that was going too far, if it would make Shiro uncomfortable. It must have been painful for him to know that someone else with his face had been out there living his life, but to his surprise, Shiro actually seemed to relax a little in his arms. Whatever Shiro’s feelings on his clone, he seemed to have made his peace with it.

“He was. He really loved you all, just as much as I do.”

That brought up something else that Keith really didn’t know how to bring up himself. He’d rather skip this part altogether, but he knew that wasn’t a viable option if they really were going to clear the air tonight.

“Hey, Shiro?” Keith waited until Shiro nudged him to make sure he knew he had his attention before continuing, “Do you remember what I said to you?”

“When?”

“Um, at the end there. To, uh, snap you out of it,” if this wasn’t the most awkward conversation Keith had ever had. His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. Shiro could probably feel it. He looked down to try and sneak a glance at Shiro’s expression, but Shiro’s face was still completely hidden.

“Yeah. You said I was your brother, and that you loved me,” Shiro peeked up once again. With only the top of his head and wide eyes visible, he looked adorable. Keith tried not to think about that. “Did you mean that?” Shiro sounded shy.

“Of course I did,” Keith said, dying a little inside. Shiro remembered everything, including the fact that he said he loved him like a brother.

“I feel the same way,” from the way his eyes crinkled, Keith didn’t need to see the rest of his face to know he was smiling, “I love you too Keith. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

Keith managed to summon a weak smile in return, hoping that Shiro didn’t notice how fragile it was. He had longed to hear those words from that mouth for so long, but this wasn’t the context he’d dreamed of. Keith may have been wishing for those words to be meant romantically, but he had ruined it for himself already by making it fraternal first. If Shiro just loved him like a brother, well, he would just have to learn to live with it. It may not have been everything he wanted, but he knew he could be happy with it. Just having Shiro near would be enough.

Looking down at the top of his head, it was clear that Shiro was fast falling back to sleep. Keith leaned back against the wall and let himself relax, eyes drifting closed. He could rest here for a little bit. Black or one of the other paladins would alert him if there was something wrong.  


***

After that night, Keith and Shiro had resolved to be more open with one another. Their relationship quickly grew back to its regular ease. If Keith had been asked to evaluate their relationship, he would say it was even closer than before.

“Shiro? Do you ever think about how this could be the last time we ever see each other, every time we fly out?” Keith didn’t know why he was bringing this up now. If he had wanted to talk about it, he should have done so already, not now in their last few minutes together before battle. They had done this a hundred times in the past; there was no need to change the routine now. Emotions were already running high as it was.

But, as ever, Shiro showed how well he knew Keith and his thoughts.

“Yes,” he said, looking directly into Keith’s eyes and tightening his embrace the smallest bit, “Every single time.”

“Me too,” and if this was maybe the last time they flew off to battle together, Keith figured it was as good a time as any to bring up how he really felt about his best friend. He stepped out of the embrace. He wouldn’t be able to have this conversation if they were so close.

“You know what, Shiro,” Or maybe not. A confession might just make things awkward between them and distract them both from where their focus should lie, a dangerous thing when in combat with the biggest Galra fleet in the Universe. But once Keith had dedicated himself to a course, there was no turning him away, and so he pressed on, “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“What?” Shiro appeared alarmed and perhaps a bit betrayed.

“I mean about how I feel about you. You know how I said I loved you as a brother?” at Shiro’s slow, uncertain nod, Keith continued, “Well, that’s not really true. I don’t think of you as my brother.”

Shiro looked hurt beyond belief, like Keith had torn the ground from beneath his feet. This isn’t what Keith wanted to do to him, but he knew there was no choice but to finish now.

“Shiro,” he had to force this out, no matter how much he feared rejection, “I do love you. But not like a brother. I’m in love with you.”

There. He’d said it. Now it was up to Shiro to react, and that was the part Keith feared the most. It didn’t help that Shiro was standing there, eyes wider than Keith had ever seen them and mouth hanging slightly open.

“Keith,” Shiro breathed, “I wasn’t expecting that.”  


So he didn’t feel the same way. It was okay. Keith hadn’t expected him to, but he’d be lying if the rejection didn’t still sting. It wasn’t Shiro’s fault though, and he had to let him know that.

“I know. And I’m sorry Shiro. I know you don’t feel the same way. It wasn’t fair of me to spring that on you like this, especially not right now when we’re all so stressed. I just couldn’t handle the thought that one of us might not make it back without me telling you how I really feel. I’m so sorry, um, I should go now…”

That seemed to unfreeze Shiro from his shock.

“Wait, Keith!” he took a step forward as he spoke, “You haven’t even let me respond.”

Keith stopped where he stood, body tense like he was about to have to fight off a Galra battalion on his own.

“Um,” Shiro said and coughed delicately into his fist. Was it Keith’s over-hopeful imagination, or was Shiro starting to blush? “Well… You might not be the only one who feels that way. My feelings for you… might not be entirely platonic either.”

Had Keith heard wrong? There was no way Shiro was saying he had romantic feelings for Keith too, was there?

“Just to check, are you saying you’re in love with me too?”

Shiro nodded.

“Well that has to be the most ridiculous way to say that I’ve ever heard,” Keith blurted out, “Just say ‘I love you too!’”

“I’m not very good at this.”

“Obviously not!” Keith was starting to smile, “Holy shit! I love you and you love me back! And I’m pretty sure I’m not even dreaming!”

“Yeah. Yes! I do. I love you too,” Shiro still looked shell-shocked, but Keith thought he was maybe starting to smile a bit too.

“Do you think we should hug?”

“Definitely,” Shiro absolutely was smiling now, warm in the way that Keith adored so much.

They both stepped forward and wrapped each other in their arms again. They may have been embracing only minutes before, but somehow, this one felt even better, like finally coming home after an eternity away. This was the way things were supposed to be. Not even the looming battle could dampen Keith’s spirits now.

A thought popped into his head. If they made it out of this alive, together, Keith wanted to make sure they would never be apart again. He wanted them to be bound in such a way that even if they were across the Universe from one another, trillions of lightyears apart, they would still know they belonged to each other.

“Takashi,” Keith began, completely certain of his course, maneuvering one hand to grasp Shiro’s left. He like the way Shiro’s given name tasted on his tongue, “Will you marry me?”

Shiro looked at him, surprise written over his face. Keith was unmoved and, despite the concern curling in his belly the longer Shiro didn’t respond, he held firm. This was what he wanted, and it was time to be honest. He may never get another chance. It was a good sign that Shiro wasn’t pulling his hand from Keith’s grasp, wasn’t it?

Gradually, a mischievous expression began to replace the one of frozen shock on Shiro’s face.

“Do you have a ring for me?” he asked, a slow smile spreading across his face and a becoming pink flush dusting his cheeks.

“Um,” Keith was dumbfounded. This was a spur-of-the-moment proposal. He may have thought of doing it a thousand times, but he never thought he would have the courage. They weren’t even dating! The idea of buying an engagement ring had never even crossed his mind. He must look like a complete idiot. “Uh… no?”

“Hmm,” Shiro studied Keith, expression pensive, “Tell you what. If you buy me an engagement ring, my answer will be yes.”

Keith felt like he’d been run over by a yelmore; he’d been beginning to think Shiro was going to say “no”, and he couldn’t blame him. But now… Keith felt joy blossoming within him.

“And if I don’t buy you a ring?” he teased. Unexpectedly, Shiro’s countenance shifted to something so soft and gentle, Keith had no word for it. Although he had shied away from identifying that expression Shiro wore so often around him, he now had to admit it was the look of pure love, as strong and true as anything had ever been.

“The answer would still be yes,” Shiro’s voice was warm and low, pitched only for Keith to hear. A tidal wave of love rushed through Keith, subsuming him and drowning all of the remaining disquiet in him. All that was left was a bubbling joy.

“I will buy you the prettiest ring I can find, Starlight,” Keith promised, voice just as gentle as Shiro’s and earnest. He knew his face was sappier than he ever wanted anyone but Shiro to see, but he couldn’t care. Let them see just how happy he was. He raised his free hand to brush Shiro’s cheek. The delicate pink blush on Shiro’s cheeks grew, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he shyly turned his cheek further into Keith’s touch and Keith had never been more endeared to Shiro, this man who could lead armies but who was also so gentle and demure and would let Keith take the lead in their romance.

“Tell if you want me to stop,” Keith whispered and leaned his face closer to Shiro’s. Keith had grown and these days, Shiro only had a couple of inches on him, but it was still enough that he had to tilt his chin ever so slightly up to capture Shiro’s lips with his own.

Of course, luck would never have it, and Keith never had the chance to make that long-held dream a reality.

“Hey, guys! What are you doing?” Lance’s voice blared from across the tarmac from within the Atlas. He must have commandeered the intercom, “We’re all ready to go, but you two are holding us up!”

“Yeah, guys,” Hunk rejoined, “Takeoff’s in, like, three minutes. We were all supposed to be here half-an-hour ago!”

“Hurry up!” Lance yelled loud enough that a number of technicians in the vicinity, of which there were significantly fewer than before Keith and Shiro had begun their conversation, startled and covered their ears.

“We’re coming! Don’t get in a twist about it!” Keith hollered back. He felt a lot less irritated with his fellow paladins for ruining the moment than he usually would have. Shiro must have been feeling it too as he didn’t so much as give Keith a disapproving look for being rude.

“We’ll finish this when we get back,” Keith whispered in Shiro’s ear before they parted. He felt Shiro shiver against him.

“Is this your way of telling me not to die?” Shiro whispered back.

“That’s certainly part of it,” they smiled gently at each other before pulling apart and turning to the ramp in front of them. They didn’t release each other’s hands before starting up.

***

“Man, I can’t believe we’re almost back to Earth already.” Hunk sighed, stretching out both arms on the back of the couch he was seated on. Shay was seated to his left, so his arm was now behind her. She didn’t seem to mind.

“No kidding. I’m pretty sure we took out that last ship, like, two vargas ago!” Lance exclaimed, throwing his own arms in the air.  


“Sounds like you’re not too good at keeping track of time,” Pidge was smirking, “Since that was just about a whole movement ago and all.”

“I know that Pidge! I’m just saying it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago!”

“It is true that it’s hard to believe the war with the Galra Empire is really over,” Allura mused, “Although we mustn’t forget that there will still be pockets of resistance throughout various newly liberated sectors.”

“Yeah. But Haggar’s gone and that definitely counts for something. No more scary space witch!” Hunk said.

Keith tuned them all out. It had been a long day, a long string of long days truthfully, seemingly unending as far back as he could look. The Galra may have officially lost the war, but that didn’t mean that the work of putting the Universe back together was over. For the Coalition, there was still a lot of rebuilding to do, and Voltron and Atlas were an important part of that. It was nice to be able to sit here in Atlas’ lounge amongst friends and allow his worries to float away.

He was over-conscious of Shiro sitting to his left, attuned to where their thighs pressed close together, a long line of warmth he couldn’t help but focus on. If he had been hoping confessing his feelings and Shiro doing the same would relieve him of some of the burden of being constantly aware of his friend’s physicality, he was to be sorely disappointed. He was no more able to focus on other matters in Shiro’s presence now than he had been before they had made their feelings known. Instead, stolen kisses in hidden alcoves had made him only more cognisant of how close their bodies were to one another at any given time, and how much closer they could be, if only they could find the time alone.

Of course, it didn’t help that they had made no official announcement to their friends, and while Keith was certain that his and Shiro’s increased intimacy was likely noted by the others, no one had said anything about it, leaving the matter an open secret amongst the group. Keith felt weird about it. This was the kind of thing people told their friends, right? He and Shiro had always been close and openly affectionate with one another in a way they weren’t with anyone else, but surely they should say something if that had gone beyond simple, if deep, friendship. Keith had figured to leave this part up to Shiro’s discretion, since he had actual experience of being in a romantic relationship where Keith didn’t, but as Shiro hadn’t made any mention of their newfound relationship status to their friends, neither had Keith. Watching Hunk and Shay playfully shove one another before going back to cuddling, Keith thought of how Hunk had excitedly told the rest of Team Voltron about his relationship with Shay as soon as it happened and thought that maybe not saying anything was unusual after all. Shiro had a history of being reticent in regards to his personal life, even around those he was friendly with, and while Keith understood and could respect that, he could see that maybe Shiro’s way of doing things wasn’t typical.

Just then, Shiro leaned further into Keith’s side, and Keith wrapped his arm around Shiro’s back. It was automatic, but before Keith could regret it or feel self-conscious, Shiro shot him a fond smile and rested his head on his shoulder. A flood of warm affection flooded through Keith’s core. The little box weighed heavier in his pocket. If this was okay, then making their relationship official in front of the people closest to them shouldn’t be a problem.

“And that’s why Lance should never be allowed near the engines ever again!” Hunk crowed, causing the rest of the room to laugh.

“Hey! Why are we always laughing at me?” Lance retorted, arms flailing wildly, to even more guffaws.

“Because! You always have the best reactions, dude! If you didn’t make a big deal of it, no one would want to tease you anymore!”

“Aw! Come on, Hunk, don’t ruin our fun!”

“Don’t worry, Pidge. Our brothers and I have been getting Lance riled up since he was a toddler. If you ever can’t get a reaction out of him, just come get an expert,” Veronica ruffled her little bother’s hair, making him squawk indignantly. 

“Hey, guys,” all eyes in the room turned immediately toward Keith. That may have been an awkward interjection. He never had been good at insinuating himself seamlessly into conversation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shiro looking up at him with curiosity. Well, he’d started, he’d might as well finish now.

“So, um,” he could feel his face turning red beneath all the attention focused on him. Why had he thought this was a good time?

“Keith, dude, are you all right?” Hunk was wearing an expression of deep concern, “You don’t look so good.”

By this time, Shiro was pulling away to sit up straight and look at Keith straight on, expression as worried as Hunk’s. Keith missed his warmth against him as soon as he was gone. He was starting to regret his decision to speak up already.

“I’m fine,” he ground out, “I, uh, I just have something I wanted to say. Mostly just to Shiro, but you guys can all hear too, I guess.”

“Do you want us to go, or..?” Pidge asked, voice uncertain.

“No! No. I’d like it if you guys were all here to, you know, witness…”

“Are you sure everything is all right Keith? If there’s something wrong, you know we’d all do anything we could to help you,” Shiro’s voice was soft and his brow was furrowed with worry. Worry for Keith. That is not how Keith wanted him to feel, and he found a new sense of determination. He would do anything to get that look off of Shiro’s face. He wanted him to be _happy._

“Everything is fine, I promise,” Keith took a deep breath and felt a deep calm overtake him. He felt as certain as he had on that day on the tarmac. This is what he wanted and only he could make this happen. “Actually, everything is more than fine; everything is great.” And with that, he slipped to one knee in front of the couch, facing Shiro.

“K-Keith, what’s going on?” Shiro’s eyes were almost comically wide. He seemed apprehensive, but Keith thought he could sense some anticipation in him too. The gears must have been turning in his head and he was probably putting the puzzle pieces together, only slowed down by his shock.

Keith pulled the small ring box from his pocket and managed to get it open with only a minimum of fumbling. They were in a room full of their friends, but in that moment Keith’s vision was full only of Shiro, who looked beautiful even if he also looked like he was about to pass out in his surprise.

“Shiro,” Keith began, calmer than he would have expected, “I know I already asked you this, but I also promised you I’d get you a ring to make it official. So, here I am, making it official. We’ve been through a lot together, and through everything, you’re the one person who has always stood by me. I know I’m not always the easiest person to be around, but you’ve always been there for me. Will you let me be the one who’s always there for you too? Takashi Shirogane, will you marry me?”

A protracted and deafening silence hung about the room, but Keith didn’t waver. He already knew what Shiro’s answer was.

“Keith,” Shiro eventually breathed, cupping his hands in front of his face. He slid to the floor until he was sitting on his heels, forcing Keith, who kept his one-kneed pose, to scooch back a few inches. “Oh my God. That’s a ring.”

Shiro couldn’t take his eyes off of the ring cradled in the soft, velvet-lined box. Keith had picked it out with care, his mind focused on Shiro, and he knew it was perfect. The smooth and simple white-gold band was interrupted at its centre by a small round gemstone whose pale silver-grey colour was reminiscent of Shiro’s starlit hair. On either side of the pearly stone sat two tiny diamonds. It may not have been the most spectacular or expensive engagement ring, but Keith had chosen it specifically for how it reminded him of Shiro. Looking at Shiro now, and the way he was staring at it in awe, he knew he had chosen well.

“Keith. Yes. Oh my God, yes. Yes, I’ll marry you!” Shiro’s voice had started off soft, but as he continued, it began to bubble with laughter and a bright smile began to overtake his face. “I wasn’t actually expecting you to buy me a ring! I was going to marry you anyway!”

“I know,” Keith was smiling too and he bit his lip, “But I wanted you to know how important you are to me. I know I don’t need a ring, or any material object, to do that, but you’re beautiful and I want you to have something that reflects that.”

“I know how important I am to you, Keith. How many times have you saved me now, after all? But I want you to know that you are just as important to me.” Shiro was blinking quickly and his face was beginning to crumple, “You make me feel beautiful, Keith, and you make me feel safe. You make me feel good. I love you so much.” There were definitely tears in his eyes as he leaned into Keith for an embrace, and, as he caught him, Keith could feel moisture pricking at the corners of his own eyes.

They held each other close for a small eternity, before Shiro pulled back. “Will you put on me?” he asked, eyes still watery.

“Of course, Starlight,” Keith said with gentle eyes and slipped the ring onto Shiro’s finger. It looked perfect sitting there against his skin.

“So… did Keith just propose to Shiro?” Lance said, dumbfounded, the first person outside of the enraptured couple to speak in minutes, “’Cause I didn’t even know they were dating.”

“I don’t think they were,” Hunk said, rubbing his chin, “Unless they’ve been dating the whole time we’ve known them. Which is definitely a possibility, come to think of it.”

In his periphery, Keith saw Veronica nudge her brother with her elbow and, once she had his attention, shoot a pointed look in the direction of Allura, who looked enamoured of the romantic scene before her. Lance looked to be taking on a distinctly pink hue.

Keith knew that, in all likelihood, there was a range of reactions going on around the room, but they could deal with this later. For now, he was happy, Shiro was happy, and they had eyes only for each other. Everything else could wait.


End file.
